Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism

My metabolism needs a jump start.  The following are ways I will try to speed up my metabolism. 

Eat Breakfast:  If you skip breakfast you are missing out on calories you could have been burning if you wait until lunch or breakfast to eat.  Studies show that if you eat breakfast you won't over eat later in the day and you boost your fat burning metabolism earlier in the day.  Honestly I do skip breakfast often, so I will make it a point to eat breakfast everyday this month.
Eat every 4 hours:  By eating every 4 hours and having healthy snacks will keep your metabolism working through out the day.  It is suggested to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day.  I am guilty of having only about 2 meals a day. 
Lift Weights:  A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories a pound of fat does.  It is time for me to put those kettle bells to work!!
Eat Dairy:  Women who consumed milk, yogurt, and cheese three to four times a day lost 70 percent more body fat than women who didn't eat dairy in a study published in the January 2003 American Society for Nutritional Sciences Journal of Nutrition. The reason: Calcium, along with other substances in dairy, actually revs up your metabolism, telling your body to burn excess fat faster.
Eat Protein:  Eating more protein increases your metabolism because your body burns the most calories digesting foods high in fiber & protein
Drink 1 Liter of ice cold water:  The fat burning process of metabolism needs water to work effectively and the body has to raise your metabolism to burn extra calories to warm up the ice cold water. 
Drink Green Tea:  A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrates a significant increase in metabolism from regular green tea consumption.  Rresearchers concluded that over a 24-hour period, green tea extract increases the metabolic rate by 4%.

DAY 123: Losing Weight at 30 Years and Older

Yeah Mon!!  I got back from Jamaica last week and I maintained my weight.  Well I gained about 2 pounds but I was able to knock those pounds off by the end of the week.

For some reason I feel like it has been a lot harder to loose weight since I started in January compared to when I lost weight several years ago.  Is it true that when you get older it is harder to lose weight?  I am not sure, but I do know that I will be turning 34 next week and I am still very far away from my goals.

I am starting to get a little frustrated from the lack of results.  I just feel like if I am making an effort then I should see better results than what I am seeing on the scale.  At a minimum 5 pounds a month would be nice but instead the scale just sits there at the same number.

Taking a look at what I have and have not been doing I have considered the following:
1.)  I might not be eating enough.  There are some days that I don't have 1000 calories or more.   Losing weight by eating a reduced amount of food contributes to a decrease in your metabolism, the rate at which your body burns calories.  A lower metabolism results in a decrease in the amount of calories burned.  I think I might need to ensure that I eat at least 1500-1600 calories a week, which should result in 1.5 pounds weight loss per week.  I also need to look into other ways to increase my metabolism.  Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/290277-not-eating-enough-calories-weight-loss/#ixzz1LLNqg9Hy
2.)  I need to get active.  I have been basically BS'ing around with doing some real exercise consistently through the week.  The roller skating is great...but I didn't go the past 3 weekends (vacation, other plans).  The last time I went skating was on April 13th and didn't do anything since then.  If I did exercise I most likely would have lost 5 pounds or more for the month of April.  This month I have decided not to drive to my job in the city and instead take public transportation (bus and metro), which requires me to do a lot more walking during the day.  It will also save me $200 or more each month :-D  I have also got some of my coworkers to agree to walking during lunch.  A lot of folks have been taking Zumba classes and I have got a couple invites out.  The funny thing is that I have filled my schedule with so many other activities like guitar and vocal lessons, that they always fall on the days that I am invited to the exercise classes :-/  I do know that weight loss is at the top of my list, so I will make an effort to fit exercise into my week.

The bottom line is that I need to exercise and I DON'T like to Exercise!  I like to have FUN!!!!